Guess who's back? Back again. Kristen's back. Tell a friend.

In trying to get back on track with healthy eating, working out, and life in general really, I have realized one very important thing.  When my apartment is clean, I'm a much  happier person.  I have more energy and most importantly I am willing to cook and would go so far as to say I look forward to cooking.  When my apartment is so messy that someone breaking in and ransacking the place would actually be an improvement, I don't want to do squat!  I don't want to work out.  I don't want to cook because it's one more effing dish in the already full sink of dishes that have been sitting there longer than they should.  (Not stinky long, but long enough).  I don't want to do anything, but veg and eat like it's the end of the world or that I'm preparing for hibernation. I know my problem is three part: I'm so mentally exhausted from grad school that now I'm finished, I just want to veg and do activities that require little to no thinking.  I'm also frustrated with the knee pain that has screwed up my running to the point where my distance is severely limited.  Lastly, I've gained back some weight that I worked hard to lose. 

So, after giving myself/my appetite a swift kick in the hindquarters, I've resolved to getting back to 5 day a week workouts and taking the time to prepare dinner rather than rely on unhealthy fast crap.  Now that my kitchen and living room are clean, I feel like a weight has been lifted.  Now if only actual weight was lifted, I would be ecstatic!  :)  The other rooms in my apartment will have to wait because as my sister can attest - I have a problem just cleaning without reorganizing.  I didn't do too much reorganizing, but once I get to the bedrooms it's a whole other story.

Last night, I made an egg sandwich.  It had been so long since I had one and let me tell you I did a yummy tummy dance with this meal.  I put 6 tablespoons of egg whites in my non-stick frying pan and that baby bubbled up wonderfully!  Then, it slid right out of the pan when I went to flip it.  BEEEE-AUT-IFUL!  I spread a bit of Miracle Whip Light and sprinkled a bit of cheese on the sandwich thin bread for a little somethin' somethin'.  Next time, I'll veggie-fy the sandwich for some extra fiber and flavor.  Then, I busted out the grapes and had a lovely meal.  (I also used the small plate trick.)

Adorning the table is a lovely orchid plant from my wonderful friend Sarah.  THANK YOU!  I'll make sure to do the plant justice and get the whole thing in next time.

While dinner was cooking, I was preparing breakfast for the next day (two days actually since I split it into two servings).  Here are what my overnight oats looked like this morning.  I'll admit.  I was a bit apprehensive about cold oats/oatmeal type breakfast, but I enjoyed it!

Here I added some of Trader Joe's Better 'n' Butter peanut butter and drizzled it with honey.  Tomorrow I think I'll just add the peanut butter and in the future, I'll experiment with different additions/toppings.  I think next time I won't use as much milk.  And for the record - it kept me full until lunch!  Heeeyyy fiber!

'Til next time!